Page 18 of The Rough Rider

“You’re marrying him.Marryinghim.” Elsie’s eyes bugged. “What’s that going to look like?”

Well, Alaina had thought of it in terms of living at the house. Managing the ranch.

“I figure,” Alaina said, “I’ll actually get to work on the ranch. Manage the house. I kind of like that idea. I’ve always shared the farmhouse with my sisters, and I love them, but you know how Fia is. She runs a tight ship, and I don’t know. I guess lately I’ve been wondering what it would be like to run my own ship. And I feel like with Gus I have the chance to do that.”

“Sex, Alaina,” Elsie said, looking at her intensely.

“Oh,” Alaina said, her stomach squeezing tight. “I...hadn’t thought about... Hadn’t thought about sex.”

That wasn’t totally true, she’d thought about it for a little last night and had made herself spiral. But...she’d had sex. The once. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

If Gus wanted sex...

For some reason, she pictured Gus’s hands. They were very big. Her mind got stuck there.

“If he wants sex...” She shrugged and tried to make it look casual. “I guess it’s all part and parcel, right? I mean... He’d have to. He’s a man.” She bit the inside of her cheek.

“I guess so. But...”

“What?”

“I don’t know. He’s just...”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Alaina said. Because somehow thinking of him like that, thinking of them like that, and then talking about it, felt like a weird betrayal. “He’s helping me. And Gus has certainly never done anything to hurt me. All he’severdone is help me. I trust him.”

“Yeah. Well, he’s a good guy. A scary guy, but a good one, as far as I can tell.”

Alaina put on her bravest face.

Sure, somewhere deep down in her heart, she was a romantic, who’d fantasized about maybe someday falling in love, but she’d limited her own options. She had to accept that. “I didn’t have a whole lot of dreams about getting married or anything like that. Getting married for the sake of a baby seems as fine a reason as any. And he’sgood. He’s never going to abandon me. This place is in his blood. He ran his father off rather than leave. I can trust him. At least in that way.”

“I’m glad that you feel good about it,” Elsie said. “And I’m glad that you trusted me to tell me. And to tell me how I hurt you. I’m really sorry, Alaina. I shouldn’t have been a coward. I didn’t know what to do with my feelings for Hunter, because they were very new, but that isn’t an excuse. Because our relationship isn’t new. We’re friends. Best friends.”

“Yeah,” Alaina said. “I certainly can’t afford to be in a fight with you. Not when everything in my life is completely turned upside down. I need you, Elsie.”

“Well, me too.Thisis totally new territory for me.” She gestured at the closed cabin door behind her. “This being-in-love business. This... All of this.”

“I guess we are going to be sisters-in-law.”

“Well, if anything could make this perfect, then that’s it.”

Alaina reached out and hugged Elsie. “I have to go. I’m going to talk to Gus. Get all thisstuffironed out.”

“Make sure to ask him about sex.”

“Believe me,” Alaina said, her cheeks going hot, “I fully intend to.”

She walked away from Elsie and got back on her horse, riding out toward the main house. She felt better for having talked to Elsie, but that didn’t solve everything. Even if it did solve most things. There was still the whole logistical... Everything.

There was still Gus.

And when she arrived at the main house at McCloud’s Landing, Gus was standing out on the porch.

Waiting.

He was wearing a tight black T-shirt that emphasized just how muscular he was, and had a dark cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes, and it made her feel...uncomfortable. Much like the feelings she’d had last night that had sent her running for her bed feeling guilty and vaguely dirty.

“I came to talk to you about wedding details,” she said. “I mean, most importantly,everythingdetails.”

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